The Sandman

During a cold winter night in Stockholm, a man is found walking alongside a railway bridge suffering from hypothermia and legionella. After he's rushed to the hospital, it's discovered that, according to his death certificate, the man has been dead for over seven years. He is believed to be a victim of the notorious serial killer Jurek Walter. As DI Joona Linna investigates where the "dead man" has been all these years, some unexpected evidence leads to the reopening of a cold case.

Exceptionally formulaic, but I do like a reliable formula when my brain's gone to sleep in mid-summer.

While detective Joona Linna continues to have convenient migraines to ratchet up tension when the plot starts to plod, this was still the most thrilling in the series so far. As in TV series that follow similar arcs, the detective's personal crisis is finally front and centre, after plenty of foreshadowing in previous novels. Feels like we are 1 novel away from the season finale.

The formulaic "super cop" meets "super villain" story. Incredibly suspenseful, a real page turner, but at the same time, absurdly far fetched. I agree with the past reviewer about the necessity of suspension of disbelief. OK read because it managed the suspense so well but the story was a bit absurd.

The Lars Keplar books are not even worth a try. There are more and more Nordic mystery novels of poor quality and Keplar's books are prime examples. They have nothing to do with the worthwhile books of Swojal and Wahloo, Mankell and Larsson. This is the last one I will attempt to read.

This is the fourth book in the Joona Linna series. A prolific serial killer (Jurek Walter) has been in a maximum security psychiatric facility for years, serving a life sentence in isolation. A young man (Mikael) has been found walking by a railroad track, ill both mentally and physically. He and his sister were abducted years earlier and believed to be victims of Jurek Walter.

Joona has always believed that Jurek did not work alone. The Sandman tells of Joona’s attempts to find the accomplice and to locate Mikael’s sister before she dies.

I found this story quite implausible and Jurek Walter’s character absurd. I much preferred Lars Kepler’s The Fire Witness which kept me engaged right to the end. I do, however, recommend this book to those who like Kepler’s previous three novels in the series. Joona Linna is an interesting character and likeable – as is his associate, Saga Bauer. I also liked the fast pace of the book and the brief chapters which are perfect for the reader who is short on time.

This is the fourth book in the Joona Linna series. A prolific serial killer (Jurek Walter) has been in a maximum security psychiatric facility for years, serving a life sentence in isolation. A young man (Mikael) has been found walking by a railroad track, ill both mentally and physically. He and his sister were abducted years earlier and believed to be victims of Jurek Walter.

Joona has always believed that Jurek did not work alone. The Sandman tells of Joona’s attempts to find the accomplice and to locate Mikael’s sister before she dies.

I found this story quite implausible and Jurek Walter’s character absurd. I much preferred Lars Kepler’s The Fire Witness which kept me engaged right to the end. I do, however, recommend this book to those who like Kepler’s previous three novels in the series. Joona Linna is an interesting character and likeable – as is his associate, Saga Bauer. I also liked the fast pace of the book and the brief chapters which are perfect for the reader who is short on time.